


A Ball in Berlin

by TheLiveshipParagon



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Affectionate Insults, Avengers Tower, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Hydra (Marvel), Mission Fic, Mutant Reader, Reader-Insert, Rude loki, Sarcastic Loki, Tumblr Prompt, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, writing challenge
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-03
Packaged: 2019-10-03 17:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17288084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLiveshipParagon/pseuds/TheLiveshipParagon
Summary: One shot summary: This was a prompt from @stanclub ‘s writing challenge for reaching 2.5K followers! Congrats!"You were rude to me the first time we met so we’ve been bickering ever since and you have the audacity to ask me for a favor? No I will not pretend to be your romantic partner."





	A Ball in Berlin

**Author's Note:**

> Pairing: Loki x Avenger Reader
> 
> Tropes: Enemies to lovers
> 
> Happy reading!  
> \- TLP xx
> 
> (Possible proof reading errors)

“I have a proposition for you.”

You gave Loki a cursory glance over your shoulder before returning back to pummelling the punch bag in front of you. You pay him no heed as you start your uppercut circuit, weaving as you go.

“Did you not hear me? I said I have a proposition for you.”

The annoyance in his tone was evident but still you ignored him, circling the bag, jabbing now.

“Stars,” he sighs in exasperation. “Will you just stop for one second, woman?!”

You finish up with a final hook that shakes the chain at the top of the bag, almost dislodging it before turning around, wiping the sweat from your brow.

“What do you want?”

“Ah, there we are. More civilised,” he croons before picking up your towel and throwing it at you. “Now, there’s a mission and I need your assistance.”

“Oh?” you quirk up an eyebrow.

“Courtesy of Director Fury. I am to infiltrate a Hydra function, a ball by all accounts. I have a high profile target that is in need of permanent removal.”

“So an assassination mission? Why not take Bucky? He is the most experienced.”

“I doubt he will be experienced in the part I have to offer,” Loki starts pacing around you. “The role I will be assuming is of Lord Edward Lindley. Fury has drafted the necessary credentials. However…..I need a female presence, a pretend romantic paramour if you will, to get me close. Baron Von Reuss is a notorious womaniser and I had no desire to become a feminine version of myself again. Midgardian men are just so….odious.”

“You can shift into a woman?” you blink.

“Not the issue,” he chides, his hands crossing behind his back. “I need your…feminine charms.”

“No you don’t,” you snort, going back to punching the bag. “I’ve seen you approach Natasha and Wanda before coming to me.”

Loki blusters for just a second, “They may have been better suited but your skills are just as…adequate.”

“Adequate?!”

“Well you’re not as experienced with espionage as Miss Romanoff, nor do you possess the magical mind altering talents of Miss Maximoff but you will do.”

“ **You know, you were so rude to me the first time we met and we’ve been bickering ever since. Now you have the audacity to ask me for a favour?! No I will not pretend to be your romantic partner!**  I am nobody’s third choice. Get out of the gym.”

“You are such a sensitive one, aren’t you?” he rolls his eyes. “I only seek to encourage you with my criticisms but if you wish to dwell on them until they become neurosis then that is your prerogative.”

“You know what? Leave me alone,” you brush past him but he grabs your arm, holding you in place.

“Forgive me,” the words come out honeyed and sweet. “In truth, I did not come to you first because I thought you would reject me, just as you have done. I am not exactly high on your list of close acquaintances.”

“How very astute of you,” you say sarcastically. “Perhaps if you  _had_ come to me first I would’ve seen it as an olive branch. As it stands, goodbye.”

“Wait!” he pulls you back once more, desperation in his eyes. “Please. I need your help. I can’t do this alone.”

“Beg.”

“Stars, you are insufferable!” he snarls.

“Beg,” you cross your arms. “Tell me how much you need me.”

“Oh must I?” he groans. “I suppose. Please, please help me on this mission. I need your expertise and I cannot do this without you. I….I beg you.”

“Alright then, give me the mission details and I’ll look them over tonight.”

“I took the liberty of already sending them to your quarters,” Loki admits.

“Of course you did,” you roll your eyes before walking out.

 

**

 

**Mission objective: Assassinate Klaus Von Reuss,  
Mission location: Clärchens Ballhaus, Berlin**

**Addendum: Von Reuss is known to favour young women, Cuban cigars and Scotch.**

 

“Are you quite ready? Stars, this is taking an  _age_ ,” Loki rumbles outside your door. “We do not have much time. What could you _possibly_ be doing that takes this long? Are you getting cosmetic surgery? Are you-”

You finally wrench open the door and the words stop dead in his throat.

“Am I what?” you challenge.

“I….” he tries to speak but he seems fixated on your form.

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Excuse me?” he blusters, the spell broken. “Why would a feline life-form have my tongue?”

“It’s a human saying,” you wave him off. “Why are you staring?”

“I did not expect….I did not expect such a radical change.”

You were wearing a gown of emerald silk that dipped into a sweetheart neckline, cut outs at your waist showed a small hint of flesh but the length was very modest, reaching to the floor. Glittering jewels hung from your ears and your hair was swept back from your face but still hung long.

“Did you doubt me, Loki?” you smirk.

“Your powers are hardly useful for this mission as I have said but….I will admit your efforts are well received.”

“Since when is walking through solid objects not useful?” you huff. “I could get into Von Reuss’ private safe in two minutes flat.”

“But that’s not the mission, is it?” Loki chides. “Now, shall we?”

He holds out his arm and you slip your hand through the crook as he leads you into the Ballhaus. The waltzing is already in full swing but you’re led to the bar where two champagne flutes are handed over wordlessly. You take yours as Loki holds his out to chime against before draining his.

“Not quite mead but still enjoyable,” he remarks before taking your waist and pulling you close, whispering in your ear. “Now remember, we are partners. Act like it. Be flirtatious, be the you that you’re not.”

“That I’m not?” you scowl. “You have no idea what I’m like around people I actually enjoy.”

“Then show me,” he chuckles. “Impress me.”

“I don’t need to impress you,” you turn around so you’re facing him before draining your flute and setting it back gently, your hands finding his chest and sliding up the expensive suit. “I just need to do my job.”

You lean up, taking his earlobe in your teeth, raking it gently before pulling back and winking.

“Very good,” Loki purrs, ordering two more drinks. “Now, what I need you to do is continue this near Von Reuss. Get him into private quarters. I’m not allowed to expunge the population here so we must be discreet.”

“This is not the Battle of New York, Loki,” you remind him coldly. “If we have one target, that’s all we take out.”

“Yes, I’m well aware,” he rolls his eyes before his gaze falls across the ballroom. “Drink up.”

Again the contents of the flutes slipped down your throats before Loki softly kissed your neck, much to your surprise.

“Let’s dance,” he grins before pulling you out onto the dancefloor.

It’d been a while since you’d done anything like this and you were extremely clunky in your movements. Many a time you felt Loki tense like he was unreasonably angry with your inelegance.

“Let me lead,” he hisses in your ear. “You have all the grace of a new born horse and you’re trying to wrest control.”

“Give me a break,” you snarl back. “I’ve not done this for years.”

“Clearly.”

You just relax, pushing all the murderous thoughts out of your head and abandoning the desire to try and micromanage it.

“Better,” you hear him say.

Now you’re both whirling freely, perfectly in tandem and Loki even starts spinning you out before twirling you back into his arms. Soon it’s becoming evident you’re attracting Von Reuss’ attention as he openly ogles you from his vantage point near the bandstand.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” Loki smiles. “Not bad at all.”

“High praise coming from you,” you scoff.

“All change!” comes the announcement in German, which Loki translates for you.

“It’s time,” Loki motions with his eyes. “The Baron is intrigued by you. He’ll ask you to dance. Use that to your advantage.”

“Alright well I have a role  _you_ need to play to seal this then,” you unlink yourself from his arms. “The jealous lover. If another male vies for my attention it makes me a higher prize to win. His interest will double.”

“Interesting,” Loki muses. “You know, you’re more adept at this then I ever anticipated.”

“I have many secrets,” you shrug as you walk into the centre of the room.

“I’m ever so curious to explore them,” you thought you heard him say as you moved away.

As expected Von Reuss approached you, speaking German and you feigned the shy girl act.

“I’m sorry, my German is abysmal,” you titter.

“No matter,” the Baron switches to English. “I shall not hold it against you.”

You laugh which seems to endear him to you, “Would you like to dance?”

“I would like that very much. Are you sure your partner will not be…displeased?”

“Let him be,” you let an enigmatic smirk play over your face. “He does not own me.”

“Oh no,” the Baron purses his mouth. “How can he? He is not exactly a strong presence.”

“Are you?” you bat your eyelashes upwards. “Could a man like you own me?”

You can visibly see how much you’ve stroked his ego because he stands up straighter and holds out his hand for you.

“We shall see. What is your name?”

“Arabella,” you lie. “But my friends call me Bella.”

“May I call you Bella?” Von Reuss starts waltzing with you.

“You may,” you blush on command.

After two minutes of dancing, the Baron’s hands wander further down your back towards your ass. You catch a glimpse of Loki as you twirl by and he looks absolutely furious.

You would think it was a great piece of acting but the expression seems so genuine. His fingers have curled into his palms like he’s trying to pierce the skin.

After another few minutes, there’s a tap on your shoulder and you turn to see Loki behind you.

“May I cut in?” he says, a clipped tone to his words.

“I believe the lady was dancing with me,” Von Reuss responds, drawing you tighter to him.

“Arabella?” Loki commands. “I think we should leave now.”

“I don’t want to leave,” you pout. “I’m having fun.”

“We. Are. Leaving.”

“I don’t think you are,” the Baron huffs before motioning for two guards to come over, the tiny Hydra pin hidden within the pocket squares of their uniforms. “Miss Arabella is staying with myself. Run along now.”

“You’re making a mistake,” Loki hisses, grabbing for your arm.

You see the opportunity and you seize it, “You’re hurting me! Stop it!”

Loki’s eyes go wide with sudden fear before he catches your gaze and understanding settles and he grips your forearm tighter.

“You’re hurting me!” you shout louder and the Baron intervenes, shoving Loki backwards before gathering you in his arms.

Von Reuss states some orders and Loki is escorted out at gunpoint before Von Reuss turns back to you.

“Are you alright, my dear?”

“I’m….I’m….” you fake stutter. “That was frightening.”

“It is the mark of a weak man to resort to violence with a woman,” the Baron tuts. “Let me take you somewhere more private. I believe you need to sit down.”

He escorts you into one of the side rooms before sitting you down and giving you a tumbler of Scotch.

“However did you get involved with such a hateful man?” the Baron sighs.

“My parents,” the fabrication just flows naturally. “It was a match, seen as good for both parties.”

“Arranged, I see,” he nods.

“But it’s not what I want,” you look down, creating the illusion of innocence.

“What  _do_ you want?” his hand caresses your cheek before coming to cup your jawline.

You turn your head, your lips catching his thumb before you part your mouth, running your tongue along the pad. You can see his eyes glitter with interest.

_Come on, Loki. Where the hell are you?_

The plan was to get the Baron into a room so Loki could kill him quietly but this was going on for far too long. It was reaching the point where you were straying into territory you didn’t want to. You didn’t want to fully seduce the Hydra Baron.

Von Reuss pulls you up by your arm until you’re in his, where he reaches down to kiss you. You try not to pull away in revulsion, reminding yourself that this was a mission and you had a duty.

God you wished you had a weapon so you could do the deed yourself rather than relying on Loki. It would’ve been easy to do the entire mission on your own at this point.

Von Reuss gets handsy and your skin is crawling. You so desperately want to pull away, to tear at his face but you can’t. You just have to go with it.

When he pushes you towards the desk you feel a sense of dread. That dread intensifies when he spins you around and bends you over it, trying to find the hem of your dress.

_Where the fucking hell are you, Loki?!_

The bottom of the dress is flipped over your hips and you go into panic mode as you hear the unlatching of a belt buckle. You end up phasing through the desk and rolling out from underneath it.

You try to make for the door but there’s the click of a gun and you just hold your hands up, turning around slowly.

“Now that is quite a curious thing,” Von Reuss mutters. “What manner of powers are those? Are they natural or the result of an experiment?”

“Keep wondering,” you stand your ground.

“So…..S.H.I.E.L.D I take it,” the Baron walks towards you. “Perhaps even one of the newer Avengers recruits? I should’ve known.”

“Yes, you should’ve.”

_LOKI?! Where are you?!_

Von Reuss approaches, wrapping one hand around your neck whilst the other places a pistol to your temple, “What a pity. Talents like yours should be put towards the greater good.”

“They already are,” you snarl around his clenched fingers.

“Ahem,” comes a voice from behind the Baron. “I rather think you should let go now.”

Von Reuss whirls around just in time to meet a short dagger which pierces through his eye socket, directly into the brain. He twitches for a short time, the shout he tried to make dying in his throat before he collapsed, almost pulling you down with him.

“There we are,” Loki smiles.

“Where the hell were you?!” you hiss.

“Had a problem with some guards outside,” Loki shrugs. “I thought you said you could handle it?”

“I’m not armed and I wasn’t prepared to be waiting this long.”

“After all your blustering about being the right choice and you couldn’t keep him busy for a short time?” Loki sneers.

“His idea of keeping busy was to try and bend me over the desk,” you scowl.

“He….what?” Loki’s lip curls.

“I didn’t think he’d be that forward,” you admit, your hands crossing your body to hold yourself. “I misjudged it.”

“You’re disturbed, I can see that,” Loki moves towards you, kicking the Baron as he passes. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

“That’s the last thing I expected you to say,” you laugh nervously.

“No matter the low opinion you have of me, I’m not that reprehensible that’d I’d condone such a barbaric act against a woman.”

“I only have a low opinion because you’re so rude to me all the time,” you mutter.

“It’s just to encourage you, like I said,” he sighs. “You have talents but you never seem to want to use your full potential.”

“But they’re personal insults too.”

“Well that is only because I enjoy your presence,” Loki says casually. “Especially how incensed you get. It’s quite beautiful in a way.”

“Beautiful?”

“Oh you silly girl,” Loki frowns. “Do you not understand? I hate that I want to be around a Midgardian as much as you. You infuriate me to no end. You’re nothing special in the universe and yet you are. Truly exasperating.”

“Uh….”

“Articulate as ever,” he rolls his eyes. “I’m just…..I’m glad you’re safe. I enjoyed our dance.”

“Me too,” you admit.

“Oh I loathe what you do to me,” he growls before walking forward and kissing you fiercely. “You wonderful and irksome woman.”


End file.
